The stem snap test is the quickest way to judge when drying is done. Bend a small stem (a bud's stem or a thin branch tip): if it folds and stays bendy, the material is still too wet; if it snaps with a slight crack while larger stems still bend, buds are typically ready to jar. If big stems shatter like twigs, the dry has probably gone too far.
In practice
Start testing around day 5-7 of a slow dry. Test several branches from different parts of the room, especially those carrying the densest colas, which dry last.
House position: the stem snap is one of three checks, not the whole answer. Combine it with:
- a calibrated hygrometer in a sealed jar, read after it has equilibrated (target about 55-65% RH, i.e. about 0.55-0.65 aw);
- weight loss, typically dry weight at roughly 20-25% of fresh.
Stems hold more water than buds, which is why a stem snap usually means the outer bud is a little drier than the core. That's also why the first days in the jar call for checking.
Don't confuse with
- Supercropping: deliberately crushing or bending live stems during the grow; "stem snapping" belongs there.
- Case hardening: dry outside, wet inside; a snap test can miss it on dense buds.
- Over-drying: stems shatter, buds crumble.
The dense, elongated cluster of flowers that forms at the end of a stem or branch; the main cola tops the leader.Relative humidity is the water vapour in air as a percentage of what it could hold at that temperature, so the same RH dries plants differently at different temperatures.The weight of cannabis after drying (and usually trimming), the basis growers use for yield; it is typically about 20-25% of trimmed wet weight.Supercropping is gently crushing a stem's inner tissue between the fingers and bending it over, so the branch lowers, toughens at a knuckle and stays productive.A drying fault where a bud's surface dries too fast and seals, leaving the core wet; buds feel dry, then rehydrate and risk mould in the jar.Drying cannabis below the target water activity (under about 0.55), leaving buds brittle and harsh, with lost terpenes; rehydrating does not restore them.A 0-1 measure of how freely available the water in a material is; for dried cannabis flower the accepted range is about 0.55-0.65 aw.The amount of water in a material as a percentage of its weight; cured cannabis flower usually sits around 10-12% w/w, though measurement method matters.Drying harvested cannabis by hanging branches upside down in a dark, controlled room so buds dry slowly with even airflow around them.Holding dried cannabis in sealed containers so its moisture declines slowly and evenly over weeks, improving smoothness and aroma.
